Water cycle



M. THERRIEN April 13, 1954 WATER CYCLE 3 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed June 29. 1953 I N V E N T0 R M3516 Thewlen Attorney M. THERRIEN WATER CYCLE April 13, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 29. 1953 QMVENTOR MeJleyTherYien Attorn y M. THERRIEN April 13, 1954 WATER CYCLE I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 29. 1953 INVENTOR Med 28y Thernen Attorrl Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATER CYCLE Medley Therrien, Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada Application June 29, 1953, Serial No. 364,710

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to waterborne conveyances and, in particular, has reference to a manually (pedal) operable conveyance of the type fitted with pontoons.

It is common in waterborne conveyances of the manually operable variety to roW the conveyance through the Water by oars which are pivoted in fittings attached to the sides (gunwales) of the conveyance, and are grasped, at their inboard ends, and moved more or less reciprocally, by the rower. conveyances of this type are usually large and cumbersome, require a certain degree of proficiency on the part of the rower, offer excessive resistance to movement through the water, and fail to utilize the maximum power of the rower.

I have'found that these disadvantages may be overcome by providing a waterborne conveyance actuable by the legs of the operator, and comprising a frame carried on a plurality of pontoons, and one or more chain-driven propellers mounted on the said frame. Conveyances of the latter type are light in weight, offer a minimum of resistance to movement through the water, require no special skill on the part of the operator, and utilize to a fuller extent the maximum power of the operator.

One object of the invention, therefore, is the provision of a pedally operable waterborne conveyance.

A mor detailed object of the invention is the provision of a dirigible waterborne conveyance consisting of a frame carried by a plurality of floats (pontoons) and pedally operable propulsion means carried by the said frame.

With these and other objects in view which may appear while the description proceeds the invention consists in the novel arrangement of cooperating parts shown in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a plan view of one embodiment of the invention showing a frame carried on a plurality of pontoons, and a plurality of pedally operable propellers carried by the said frame;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of this embodiment;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, partly diagrammatic. view in plan showing means for selectively declutching the propellers from the propeller shaft, and

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view in section of one of the clutches shown in Fig. 3.

The conveyanc illustrated in the drawings, wherein the same reference characters denote the same parts throughout, consists basically of a plurality of floats linked together by a frame having a plurality of pedally operable paddle wheels revolubly mounted thereon.

In particular, in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral l0 denotes a frame which is supported at the rear by like pontoons' Hand l2 and, forwardly, by a similar pontoon l3 having a keel M. It may be of any suitabl cross section, but, preferably, as shown, is a tubular structure, somewhat similar to the frame of a bicycle, having a suitable seat I? disposed medially of its upper cross bar, a sprocket 16 secured to a shaft ll journalled in a hanger forming part of its lower cross bar, crank arms l8 and I9 extending radially from opposite ends of the said shaft, pedals 20 and 2| respectively secured to the ends of the cranks arms l8 and I9, a transversely disposed propeller shaft 22 journalled in its after end, and a forked member 23 rotatably mounted in a steering post 24 forming its forward end. A pair of handlebars 25 is secured to the upper end of th forked member 23 as by a stem 26-, and the lower terminations of the said forked member are secured to a bracket 21 which is rigidly secured to the deck of the pontoon I3. The after end of the said frame is carried by a tubular inverted U-shaped member, the opposite ends of which ar secured to brackets 28 and 29 respectively rigidly secured to the decks of the pontoon l l and the pontoon [2,

The pontoons ll, 12 and I3 may be of any suitable cross section but, in the form shown, are decked-over more or less V bottom shells formed in usual boat fashion with vertical stems and downwardly rearwardly extending transoms. The forward pontoon I3, as hereinbefore stated, is provided with a keel I4 which serves as a rudder for steering the conveyance.

In order that the conveyance may be propelled through the water and steered more readily, like paddle wheels 30 and 3| are revolubly mounted at opposite ends of th propeller shaft 22, and means are provided for selectively driving the said paddle wheels whenever the orientation of the pontoon I3 is altered from the dead ahead position by the operator of the conveyance. As shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the means for collectively or selectively driving the paddle wheels 3|] and 3| may comprise like medially and terminally flanged tubular drive shafts 32 and 33 arranged concentrically with and secured to the propeller shaft 22 by suitable fastening means such as set-screws 34 and 35, like circumferentially grooved clutch discs 36 and 31 revolubly slidably mounted on the said tubular drive shafts and rotatable therewith, like clutch tension springs 38 and 39, like bell cranks 40 and 4| adapted for actuating the said clutch discs, and a sprocket 49 secured to one of the said drive shafts and connected by a chain 50 to the drive sprocket I6.

Each said clutch disc is provided with a plurality of axially outwardly extending fingers 42 which extend through suitable bores 43 formed in the said terminal flange of each said tubular drive shaft, and are received by suitable bores 44 formed in the frame of each said paddle wheel.

The bell cranks 40 and 4| are pivotally secured to a bracket 45 which is secured transversely of the frame It, and are connected by like tensed control wires 46 and 41 to the opposite ends of a suitable bracket 48 which is secured transversely of the forked member 23.

It is believed that the construction and advantages ofthe structure shown may be apparent from the foregoing paragraphs taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings without further detailed description.

. While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed it is understood that minor changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of cooperating parts may be resorted to within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A dirigible waterborne conveyance comprising a the said frame, a like float having a keel secured to the lower termination of a vertically disposed standard revolubly carried forwardly by the said frame, steering means secured to the upper termination of the said standard, a propeller shaft journalled transversely of the said frame, like tubular drive shafts carried by the said propeller shaft and secured to the opposite ends thereof, like paddle wheels revolub'ly mounted at opposite ends of the said propeller shaft outwardly of the said tubular drive shafts, like clutch elements revolu bly slidably mounted on the said tubular drive shafts and rotatable therewith, expansible elastic means forcibly urging the said clutch elements into rigid engagement with the frames of the said paddle wheels, like release levers each having one end in sliding engagement with the said clutch elements, a bracket secured transversely of the said standard and turnable therewith, tensed elongated flexible members connecting the opposite ends of the said release levers to the opposite ends of the said bracket secured to the said standard, pedally operable means carried by the said frame for revolving the said tubular drive shaft, and a seat mounted atop the said frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 412,391 Jorgensen Oct. 8, 1389 858,093 Mitchell June 25, 1907 1,126,037 Lehotsky Jan. 26, 1915 

